7mm Weatherby

Quick search of what? There's a bunch of data on Hodgdon's site. Fair bit on Barnes' site too. Think I'd use a 140 for deer. A 7mm Weatherby is a bit of over kill for deer though. Friggin' Barnes 140TSX starts at 3000ish FPS.

RL 23 and RL26 are awesome powders for a 140 gr. TSX. With those powders, and that bullet, you will have a very flat shooting deer hunting load. It's been a while, but I have loaded for the 7mm Weatherby, and I really like the performance.

I personally prefer the Speer Hot core offerings myself, specifically the 145 gr., but Barnes builds a very good bullet, it's just a lot more expensive to do a development with. In such case, you could go with RL19 or RL22 and obtain nearly the same high end velocities. BTW, the Hot Core has delivered superb accuracy and performance on everything I've hunted with it, and for many years.

Come on Sunray, your kidding right? Nothing about the 7mm Weatherby is over kill for deer, it's just a good efficient long range hunting cartridge. That would be like saying the .270 win with a 140 gr. bullet screaming along at 3100 fps is also over kill.

GS

Barnes bullets will certainly kill them, but for deer its not necessary. I wouldn't call it overkill, but in fact maybe the opposite.

I like to use a bullet that is going to open up a bit more than a Barnes. They are designed for weight retention and to stay together. I'd rather shoot a standard cup and core bullet on a thin skinned animal like a whitetail. Save the Barnes bullets for game like moose that require deeper penetration.

That's just my opinion. The Barnes will certainly kill them, but it will cost you a lot more than necessary to do it.

I'd use a Sierra Gameking and spend the same on 100 bullets as you would on a 50 count box of the Barnes.

Ramblings.

Never thought too much about the Weatherby's until I bought a Vanguard in 257 Mag. Awesome round! The rifle had an excellent trigger, shot nice tight groups and was the angel of death on whitetails. I can see where a 7mm would be a good pick for West Kansas. I like Barne's bullets for larger game like elk, bear or moose but is not necessary for deer. I would pick a good bonded core bullet like the Accubond. I have had great results with the HotCor in standard calibers but have not shot them in anything hotter than a 270. They should work fine unless your buck shows up in your face. Then it might make a mess. I shot a whitetail that was dogging a doe at a range of about 20 yards. Hit him high in the spine. You could push a baseball through the hole that the HotCor made.

Slower powders like R22, R23, 4831, Retumbo or 7828 should work well.

My hunting grounds are in West Kansas. Shots will be as long as you can ethically take.

Click to expand...

Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with the Barnes bullets.

However if you have trouble with them (many people do) give the Swift Scirrocos a try and maybe Berger VLDs. They both have an excellent reputation for long range accuracy. (The Bergers can be tricky too. Like the Barnes they tend to want to be seated barely off the lands).

I shot a big mule deer at about 20 feet in New Mexico back in the 90's with a 130 gr. Hot Core. He stepped out in front of me and then just stood there. I plugged him literally right through the pump station, and the Hot Core left a baseball sized exit hole.

I like them, I like them a lot.

GS

I plugged him literally right through the pump station, and the Hot Core left a baseball sized exit hole.

Click to expand...

I can imagine the damage it did at 20 ft.

It was basically hitting him at muzzle velocity. I shot one at a similar distance with a .30-06 and it left a rather large hole as well. This one was with a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic tip. I would not recommend that bullet for 7mm Weatherby mag velocities.

like to use a bullet that is going to open up a bit more than a Barnes. They are designed for weight retention and to stay together. I'd rather shoot a standard cup and core bullet on a thin skinned animal like a whitetail. Save the Barnes bullets for game like moose that require deeper penetration.

Click to expand...

Barnes bullets open up just fine if they are going fast enough. They'd be perfect in the 7mm WBY mag pushed as fast as you can shoot them. The knock on copper bullets not expanding enough is folks shooting them too slow. They need to impact at at least 2200 fps for decent expansion. If you were to shoot 140 gr copper bullets at 7X57 or 7-08 speeds you'd not get good expansion. From a 7 mag, you would. They are not a good long range bullet in anything though because of the need for speed to expand.

A traditional cup and core bullet is a better option at slower speeds since they will still expand down to about 1600-1800 fps. But at close range and at magnum speeds they are likely to explode on contact and not give enough penetration.

For anyone here that reloads 7mm Weatherby can you give me you press and die setups? I have a Dillon 550. But looking to a single stage if nesessary. Thanks

josmund said:

Never have messed with the Barnes before and thought I'd give it a go. My hunting grounds are in West Kansas. Shots will be as long as you can ethically take.

Click to expand...

A few things I've learned about Barnes bullets:

1. In the guns I've used them in, the loads tend to be near maximum for best precision.

2. In general I don't think crimping is needed but for a couple of very nice TSX loads I have, I used a Lee Factory Crimp Die to crimp in the appropriate groove. You would probably have to get said die custom made by Lee Precision as I doubt it's one of their regular offerings.

azemon, I reload my 7mm Weatherby on an on C and H "H" style press. Weight each charge since it is precision shooting that I am looking for. You will never get close to the lands and Grooves on a Weatherby so play with overall length a little. I am at 68.5Grains of H4350 with a 150 gr Barnes that I'm taking to Wyoming this fall. About .75 Moa. Not great, but I am not a great shooter and am looking to update the Original weatherby Scope on the Rifle. Haven't wanted to do it, but will restock it and re scope it instead of buying a whole new rifle....Don't need any more safe queens....